Forging Friendships
by H.B. Horse
Summary: You don't always want the friends you make, but sometimes it's nice to have someone you can trust. Series of friendship based One-Shots featuring Takeo.
1. Unintentional friends

**Kino Der Toten  
**

Could this really be the end of the great Takeo ?

He was down and surrounded with his spare pistol finally empty. As the zombie horde closed in eager to feast upon his flesh he took a moment to reflect on his life up to this point. He fought the good fight and perhaps because of his involvement his companions might find some way to put an end to the undead scourge that plagued the Earth. Was his death honorable?

Yes. Yes it was.

He could accept that.

"HANG IN THERE TAK'!" Dempsey roared, his Commando blazing with deadly precision and tearing the former Nazis to ribbons.

"DIE FREAKBAGS!"

Takeo watched in half-amazement as the American hungrily ripped into his many foes. One by one they fell, each shrieking in false pain. Heads exploded in gory fashion after every shot that rang out, and the single grenade saw to it that both blood and limbs rained down upon the checkered floor.

After planting the final bullet courtesy of his trusty M1911 into the last remaining zombie, Dempsey looked down at Takeo bearing an odd and seemingly out of place look of worry for his Japanese ally.

"Ey Tak', you alright man? Thought you were a goner for a moment there." Despite the usual gruffness of his voice, the concern Dempsey felt was audible. After wiping his bloody hand off on his uniform he offered it to the downed Asian.

Takeo glared and reluctantly took the offered hand.

"I did not need or even request your help."

"Ha! Yeah I'm sure ya didn't but the Doc' wanted you over at the tele-mortar-thing. It's about time we got the hell out of here."

"Very well. Let us go."

"Yeah you go on ahead. Nikolai got scared and drained the system last round and Richtofen said I oughtta link up the pad. I'll be over there in five."

Takeo merely nodded in response and walked away from his comrade. Lucky for him he was downed only a few rooms away from the theatre and made a quick stop to buy himself a bottle of that oh-so-delightful beverage known as Juggernog. He casually walked away from the machine, taking a few drinks before tossing it away and proceeded at a comfortable pace towards the teleporter.

While he didn't care much for the American he couldn't ignore how helpful Dempsey was. It wasn't often, but nearly every time he found himself in a tight spot Dempsey was there in a matter of moments to bail him out of it. Was it possible that the marine thought of Takeo as a friend? The thought was absurd, but it explained why he was showered by so much unnecessary -but well deserved- praise.

Dempsey was a good soldier and a fine teammate (to him, anyways) and had made the occasional one-liner that Takeo himself couldn't deny was rather amusing. He would never voice such thoughts, however, lest the fool think he wasn't entirely hopeless…

…But then maybe he wasn't.

Takeo shook off his thoughts, already disgusted with himself for thinking that any one of his "allies" could even bear some semblance of honor. While he was no drunk Russian, Dempsey's constant boasts were annoying after hearing them a dozen or so times. Takeo did not appreciate big talk that was not one-hundred percent true. One would be wise to not even mention the Doctor. For all the hate he felt towards Nikolai, Edward was something truly loathsome.

Takeo stepped into the teleported when he arrived, seeing that Richtofan and the stumbling Russian were already inside waiting.

"Greetings, Doctor." Takeo said while deliberately paying Nikolai no mind.

"Oh, hello Takeo. Has Dempshey linked up ze pad?"

"He requested we give him five mintues."

"Hmm… Fine."

They waited and waited, but had seen no signs whatsoever of Dempsey. The teleport had long since green-lighted their escape as well, so where was he? A dreadful feeling overcame Takeo when he realized that not only was Tank missing,

_The zombies were too._

"Oh vell, it seems he is dead. So sad. Time to depart yes?" Richtofen chirped, all too happy to have a chance to finally leave his hated comrade behind. He began to prepare the large machine, punching in coordinates for their destination. The American was surely overwhelmed and likely required assistance. Takeo growled, his course of action painfully obvious. He had one perk and only a single mag for his FN FAL.

Maybe his head was just as empty as Dempsey's.

"I will go find him Edward, so do not move!" Takeo shouted, already making his way down the aisle and to the pad where Dempsey was likely fighting for his life. He loaded his gun with a fresh magazine as he rushed along the path to the ever increasing sound of gunfire.

As he suspected, there the marine was, backed into a corner near the Quick Revive by a rapidly advancing pack of zombies. Someone really should have boarded up the windows.

"Eat shit and die gutterslugs!" Dempsey bellowed.

Defiant to the end. An admirable trait.

Takeo charged at the horde without hesitation and fired a few carefully placed rounds to draw their attention.

"Over here foul beasts!" Takeo waved, firing his FN FAL and scoring some headshots. Just as he had hoped the zombies lost interest in the Yank and found Takeo to be a much more suitable snack for their insatiable hunger. He dashed up the lobby stairs and called down to a stunned Dempsey.

"To the machine! I shall soon follow!"

Without wasting a moment the marine nodded and ran off, leaving Takeo alone to deal with the monsters now chasing him.

His mission accomplished, Takeo made his way through the cluttered cinema, easily keeping ahead of his starving pursuers. The lone warrior was more agile than he looked and was swiftly moving through the rooms and jumping down stairs to increase both his momentum and distance. The dressing room blurred at his speed, and the wide open theater was a welcome sight.

Takeo slowed to a jog and nonchalantly stepped into the giant contraption with the rest of his team.

Richtofen scowled at him as he passed and through gritted teeth asked, "Ready?"

"Yes, let us depart."

"Hey Takeo."

"Hm?"

"Thanks."


	2. Like One of My Own

**Griffin Station - Moon**

Another mag empty, another zombie dead and another wave successfully survived. How long has she been playing by Richtofen's rules? Minutes? Days? Perhaps even weeks? However long it was, it was far too long. Even the mere seconds were hard to bear now that she was the one fighting for her life.

This side of the game wasn't as fun.

Samantha sighed and began to trace her finger over the inscriptions carved into her Pack-A-Punched rifle. With all the power held within it's chamber, it'd probably be a quick and painless death if she were to shoot herself. To any other person the thought would be a grim one, but to her it was an almost joyous thing to have on her mind. Her life was something of a Hell since Richtofen decided to betray her father and the feeling of release that engulfed her whenever she was close to death was magnificent. She never got the freedom she wanted though, as Takeo would always come in the nick of time, his ray gun bursting with futuristic power and making short work of her attackers.

The Imperial Captain never failed to rescue her when she was in an inescapable situation, often telling her that he would always help when he could. It was these acts of kindness that drew her to him in between the waves of zombies. They would sit down in the Bio-Dome, remove their helmets and then the Japanese soldier would give her tips on aiming or general survival. Sometimes Dempsey and Nikolai joined them for a group chat on their favorite tactics or on occasion, just talk about whatever came to mind. It was one thing she enjoyed about this side of the game, at least.

She took a seat on one of the pillow-like pads placed around the dome to catch anyone with the misfortune of accidentally stepping on a launch-pad without a sense of direction. It was surprisingly soft, considering that they were placed here in 1944.

"Ah, here you are Samantha." Takeo greeted, taking a seat next to her.

She looked at him and gave the man a strained smile, "Hey Takeo."

"Are you well?"

"Yeah, I am fine. Just… Sad I guess."

"Then do not be. The solution is that simple."

"I know but, vell, it is tiring to be here. In zis world."

Those words baffled Takeo, as long as he knew her she was a bloodthirsty child that wanted nothing more than to cause pain to her foes and in particular; Edward. How could she possibly be weary of seeing the gore she so very much appeared to enjoy?

"You grow tired of the bloodshed?"

"No, no I really like zat part it is just zat… I vish I could be vith daddy."

Takeo chuckled to himself for forgetting that even though she was something of an abomination, she was still a child at heart. Her father was the only parental figure she had and now he was gone. Least that's how it seemed at first glance. The way Ludvig Maxis guided them to launching the missiles at Earth had made him suspicious of whether or not he was truly deceased and was in fact somehow trapped in the machinery of this base. It certainly wasn't out of the question considering the events at that Soviet Cosmodrome.

"Do not dwell on the past young one. You will find only sorrow in the events that have long since passed, and I do not wish to see you with a frown so very often."

Samantha's voice began to break a little, "It is hard not to though! I am both an orphan und an old man now! There is so much zat has gone wrong und…. und it makes me vant to cry sometimes…"

Takeo stared at the young girl for a moment, taking in her words and forming a way to counter them for the better. The very thought of what Richtofen had done to such a young child filled Takeo with an unholy rage that threatened to consume him. He could not undo what has happened, no matter how much he would like to be able to do so for her sake. He vowed vengeance against Group 935 and that was the most he could do; for someday he would fulfill it. He wanted to assuage her pain now though, and he knew of no possible way to do that.

Then a thought arrived in an uncomfortable package. It made his heart twist and his stomach queasy. If he knew how to blush or stutter, he very well may have done so at that moment.

"Samantha," He began, taking a breath, "I cannot bring back your father. As much I am great, I cannot do what is impossible. However, I can do this:"

Takeo leaned close and suddenly wrapped his arms around her, granting her a tight embrace that no one has ever experienced before. It was awkward, strange, and every feeling that ran through him was saying that he had no business even performing such an action, but at the same time he could not deny that it felt natural. This was new territory for him as affection was something he never expressed before, but for the sake of his newest and most valued, friend he could try to display it.

The young German girl was stunned by the random hug, as she neither had nor expected such a thing from Takeo. She wasn't sure what to do, but she slowly placed her arms around him in response, feeling the warmth of his grasp engulf her. For the moment she wasn't a sadistic monster trapped in a mad scientist's body anymore, she was Samantha Maxis. She was a young girl again. She was a child sharing a tight embrace… with a father.

"I can treat you as if you were my own." He said softly.


End file.
